


We'll grow up together, yeah? - Childhood friendship

by Just_A_Random_Fandom



Series: We'll grow up together, yeah? [1]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, But it will get darker, Childhood, Childhood Memories, Fluff, Its cute now, Kid Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups, Kid Lee Jihoon | Woozi, M/M, Warnings will be at the beginning of each work
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-28
Updated: 2018-04-01
Packaged: 2019-03-10 17:53:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13506744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Just_A_Random_Fandom/pseuds/Just_A_Random_Fandom
Summary: Lee Jihoon didn't have many friends. Scratch, that, he didn't have any friends. He didn't really mind though, he was only six years old, who needed friends? He's got his toys and his mom.Then a family moves in down the street.(Currently on Hiatus)





	1. First Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> This series will be in short updates. Thank you for reading my attempts at fanfiction. Warnings will be at the beginning of each chapter. So it's okay now, but in the future, it will get darker.
> 
> Warning: super slow updates

 

 

“Jihoon-ah, why don’t you greet our new neighbours!” his mom says softly, trying to nudge her son out of his hiding place.

 

Jihoon, being the shy boy he is, clings to his mother’s skirt and hides behind her. He doesn’t like new people, he was fine by himself in his room, with his toys.

 

“I’m sorry, he’s very shy,” his mom says, rubbing her hand in a soothing motion on Jihoon’s back. _She’s telling him that it’s okay, that it’s safe for him to come out._

 

“Oh it’s fine, how old is he?” A feminine voice rings out. Jihoon presumes that it’s the neighbour.

 

“He is six years old,” his mom replies.

 

“Oh, then I’m sure you’ll get along with my son, Seungcheollie, he’s seven.”

 

Jihoon didn’t notice the smaller figure standing behind the woman. He peers out a little to see a smiling boy, a bit taller than him, with soft black hair and bright shining eyes. He almost resembles a puppy.

 

“Jihoonie, why don’t you take Seungcheol to your room and show him your toys while I have a chat with Ms. Choi for a while? I can bring up some cookies,” his mom says, pushing Jihoon slightly to face Seungcheol.

 

Jihoon can see the boy more clearly now. He has small dimples and dark brown eyes. He looks a little skinny, but not underfed. He’s wearing a red and black hoodie with a pair of white shorts and some nice Pokémon sneakers. Jihoon likes Pokémon too.

 

“Go on,” his mom says, moving so that Jihoon now stands in front of her.

 

Jihoon only nods slightly and turns around to head to his room. He stops halfway down the corridor to look behind him and sees Seungcheol still standing in the doorway, looking at him.

 

“Well?” He says, motioning for Seungcheol to follow him. Albeit that was a bit rude, but Jihoon didn’t really care about his tone, Seungcheol probably wouldn’t stay long anyway.

 

Seungcheol stares at him intently for a few seconds before breaking into a grinning smile as he skips down the hallway to follow him.

 

Jihoon hears his mom and Ms. Choi laugh slightly, why were moms always so giggly? It didn’t make any sense to Jihoon, his mom was always so intent on getting him to play with people, he doesn’t know why.

 

It always ended up badly, and his mother always has to apologize for him. He doesn’t like hearing his mom’s sad voice, apologizing to mean people. He doesn’t even know what he did to make them hate him.

  
  


 

 

 

 

“This is my room,” Jihoon says quietly. He goes to sit on his bed and quickly shoves his favourite plushie under his pillow. Plushies aren’t manly, he is a big boy. He looks around his room and notices that he has a bunch of pink clothing strung around the place, _oh no._

 

“What’s that?” Seungcheol asks, motioning to the lump protruding from Jihoon’s bed. Darn it, he did see it.

Seungcheol moves to grab the pillow to see what’s underneath. Jihoon moves to stop him but he’s too slow.

 

“Oh! I also have a plushie like this, although mine’s a dog. I like cats too though!” Seungcheol exclaims, grinning at Jihoon while holding the cat plushie in his arms.

 

Jihoon thought that Seungcheol would have bullied him for having a stuffed animal at this age.

 

“You….you don’t think it’s girly?” Jihoon half-whispers.

 

Seungcheol stops smiling and frowns, “Of course not, why would I? Toys are for everyone.”

 

“A-and you don’t mind all the pink? It’s not a boy colour…”

 

Seungcheol looks genuinely confused at Jihoon’s words, “No, I also like pink! It’s cute, and it suits you.”

 

Jihoon gapes a little. Maybe Seungcheol wasn’t like the others, maybe he was nice.

 

Maybe he wouldn’t get hurt again…

 

“You should come to my house so I can show you my toys! Although everything is in boxes, so you’ll have to wait a little.”

 

Jihoon smiles and nods.

 

Yeah. Maybe Seungcheol is different.

 

 

 


	2. Seungcheol's Room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jihoon goes over to Seungcheol's room, as promised, but it gets late and Jihoon has to go home.

 

 

  
  
“This is my room!” Seungcheol says, opening the door.  
  
  
  
Jihoon follows quietly in his footsteps.  
  
  
  
Jihoon looks around Seungcheol’s room. The walls are full of pictures of him and his family. Jihoon assumes that the woman and the man in most of the pictures are his parents. He also sees a boy who looks a little older than Seungcheol, who he assumes is his brother. Now that he thinks about it, he did pass another bedroom on his way here that looked like a kid’s bedroom.  
  
  
  
Jihoon can see a couple open boxes that are left to unpack, they look like they’re full of clothes and toys.  
  
  
  
“I’ll show you my plushies!” Seungcheol says, opening a drawer in his dresser. Jihoon peers into the space practically overflowing with stuffed toys. There are birds, cats, bears, and an overwhelming amount of dogs  
  
  
  
“Woah…”  
  
  
  
“Impressive right? I plan on growing up and collecting even more!” Seungcheol exclaims.  
  
  
  
Jihoon smiles a little. He liked Seungcheol’s room, it felt homey, like he really loved his room.  
  
  
  
Jihoon didn’t like his room. It was full of stuff he didn’t like. Pink clothes and pastel colours. The only thing he liked was his grey cat plushie, that was given to him by his mom for his fifth birthday. It was the only thing that his mom has given him.  
  
  
  
“This one is my favourite!” Seungcheol hops onto his bed and pulls out from the duvet a golden retriever plushie. Strangely, it sort of resembles Seungcheol himself.  
  
  
  
“It looks like you…” Jihoon points out. Seungcheol looks shocked for a moment before grinning.  
  
  
  
“That’s what my brother says too, I guess it’s true, then, if you think so too.”  
  
  
  
They spend the rest of the day in Seungcheol’s room unpacking Seungcheol’s things with minimal interruptions.  
  
  
  
Only once did Seungcheol’s mom come into their room to bring them snacks.  
  
  
  
“When do you have to go home, sweetie?” She asks, checking her watch. It was nearing seven o'clock in the evening.  
  
  
Jihoon stills for a moment. Oh, right, he had to go home.  
  
  
  
“Um, my mom said that I could stay until eight, unless that’s not okay with you, Ms. Choi, I can leave earlier.”  
  
  
  
Ms. Choi looks like she wants to hug the life out of Jihoon, “Oh, of course, it’s alright with us, we can even walk you home if you’d like, I’m sure Cheollie wouldn’t mind.”  
  
  
  
“I’ll walk him home, eomma!” Seungcheol grins.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Seungcheol and Jihoon are walking down the street towards Jihoon’s house. Jihoon is silent for the most part, content with just listening to Seungcheol’s chatter.  
  
  
  
“So, want to hang out tomorrow? Maybe you could show me around the neighbourhood?” Seungcheol asks.  
  
  
  
Jihoon nods.  
  
  
They come to a stop before Jihoon’s house. Seungcheol bids farewell to Jihoon and skips off into the night back to his house.  
  
  
This leaves Jihoon standing in front of his door. He sighs and turns the doorknob. It opens, that must mean that his mom left it open for him.  
  
  
  
The house is somewhat dark, only a couple of lights on in the kitchen and in the hallway. Jihoon goes into the kitchen and opens the fridge. There’s a small plate of kimbap with a note that says:  
  
  
  
“Going to bed early tonight, had a rough day at work, sleep well, sweetie!  
  
Xoxo - Mom”  
  
  
  
His mom’s kimbap was amazing as always, so Jihoon didn’t mind. He was a young little boy who didn’t suspect too much, he had his toys, his food, his mom…  
  
  
  
He could go to bed.  
  
  
  
When Jihoon opens the door to his room, he doesn’t see anything out of the ordinary. He looks around.  
  
  
  
White dresser, lavender curtains, wooden chest, blue bed sheets…  
  
  
  
Pink present.  
  
  
  
  
There’s a little gift box on his bed. It’s pink, wrapped with a bright shiny bow. Jihoon stares at it intently.  
  
  
  
  
It’s another present.  
  
  
  
He looks at it, and it feels like it’s staring back at him.  
  
  
  
Well, a gift is a gift.  
  
  
  
Jihoon opens the card attached to the side of the box:  
  
  
  
“Hey little buddy, hope you enjoy this little gift from me! Wear it next time I come over, yeah?  
  
\- Hyungwoo”  
  
  
  
Oh, it was from Hyungwoo, that nice man that works with his mom. Why would he give Jihoon a gift?  
  
  
  
Jihoon opens the box to find a pink wool sweater and a pair of white shorts.  
  
  
  
The shorts are stretchy, almost like the gym shorts Jihoon sees runners wear in the park, they are also very short. Jihoon wonders why anyone would ever want to wear this. The sweater is big and reaches just underneath his hips. It’s very soft.  
  
  
  
But it’s pink…  
  
  
  
Hyungwoo always gave him pink things.  
  
  
  
So did Kwanjae...  
  
  
  
So did Myeongseok…  
  
  
  
Now that Jihoon thinks about it, many of his mother’s colleagues give him pink things whenever they visit. But his mom said she had a rough day at work, was Hyungwoo visiting? But that didn’t make sense…  
  
Jihoon is too tired to think much about it, so his thoughts go back to the outfit in front of him.  
  
Well, he should be thankful for getting so many gifts, even though he doesn’t really like them.  
  
  
  
He hears a thump on the wall that breaks him out of his thoughts. The noises scare him. His mom tells him that it’s just the friendly ghosts who get lost on their way to heaven, they bump into things in confusion.  
  
  
  
Jihoon would like to believe this, but sometimes he hears more than one sound, and it scares him even more. Sometimes he hears voices, and he thinks that maybe, just maybe, the ghosts are after him.  
  
  
  
Even when he closes his eyes and tries to fall asleep, the ghosts come to haunt him, and not even his cat plushie can help him.  
  
  
  
Maybe Seungcheol will save him...  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	3. Play, date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Seungcheol's first day at his new school, he's invited to Jihoon's house to play. Everything is fine until they come home to meet a man.
> 
> A man who seems to like pink.
> 
> A man who seems to like pink on Jihoon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Implied/mild pedophilia
> 
> It will get worse in future works, appropriate warnings will be at the beginning of each work.
> 
> Thank you for reading and have a nice day!

 

 

 

 

“Mom, is it okay if Seungcheol comes over to play after school today?” Jihoon asks his mom as he puts on his coat.

 

His mom looks at him with a twinkle in her eyes, “Of course, I’m so happy you’re becoming friends! This is great!”

 

Jihoon doesn’t know why his mom seems so excited, it’s just a playdate, they aren’t even friends, or at least, Jihoon doesn’t think they’re friends. Yet.

 

“I’ll have some snacks ready for when you come home.”

 

Jihoon nods and closes the front door behind him after waving goodbye to his mother.

 

He walks down the street to Seungcheol’s house to find him waiting on his front steps. He’s waiting with another boy whom Jihoon assumes is his older brother, they’re both playing with a dog, a husky.

 

Seungcheol looks up and waves, “Hi Jihoonie! This is my hyung, Wooseok, and our dog, Fighter.”

 

Jihoon takes in the several similarities between the two. They both have amazingly dark eyes and adorable smiles. Wooseok is slightly taller, but not by much.

  
Their dog is fluffy and has bright blue eyes. It runs up to Jihoon and is practically begging to be pet, which Jihoon happily complies with.

 

The three walk to their school. Once they get there, Wooseok goes to the grade school section, while Jihoon and Seungcheol go to the kindergarten section.

 

Seungcheol and Jihoon spend the day drawing, playing, doing basic math and so on. The day goes by quickly and soon enough, the three of them are heading home.

 

“Do you want to come over to my house?” Jihoon asks, “I only asked my mom if Seungcheol-hyung could come over, but I’m sure my mom would be okay if you came too, Wooseok-hyung”

 

Seungcheol immediately agrees, nodding frantically.

 

“I’ve actually gotta setup my spaceship model in my room, but maybe next time!” Wooseok says, walking up the steps to their house.

 

“Okay, I’ll see you later Hyung, tell eomma where I am and that I’ll be home later!”

 

They walk a little longer until they reach Jihoon’s house.

They can hear chatter from the outside. Oh, his mom must have company over.

 

“Let’s go straight to my room and we can play games,” Jihoon says, taking off his shoes in the entryway. Seungcheol follows behind him.

 

They almost make it past the kitchen unnoticed until a voice calls out to them.

 

“Jihoonie, nice to see you home, who’s this young fellow? Your friend?” It’s Hyungwoo.

 

“Hello, Hyungwoo-nim…” Jihoon says, turning his head down slightly.

  
People could mistake this gesture for a bow, but to Seungcheol, it looks like submission, and he doesn’t like it one bit. He may be young, but he can recognize fear when he sees it.

  
“My name’s Choi Seungcheol, sir, we just moved in…” He says. He takes Jihoon’s hand in his and leads them out of the kitchen.

 

Once they turn the corner they hear Hyungwoo’s voice call out to Jihoon.

  
“I look forward to how you look in my gift, Jihoonie.”

 

Jihoon shivers slightly, Seungcheol can tell that Jihoon doesn’t really like Hyungwoo, he wonders why. He seemed kind enough, he even gave Jihoon a present. It doesn’t seem like this Hyungwoo guy is his father, Jihoon addresses him by his name, even if he was, who could ever be afraid of their father?

  
  


The door closes behind them and Seungcheol goes to take out the toys from the chest. He expects Jihoon to be right behind him but instead, he heads for his dresser.

 

Seungcheol sees him take off his shirt and pants to put on a pair of white shorts, that honestly look like underwear in the young eyes of Seungcheol. He sees Jihoon struggling slightly with the sleeves of the sweater so he heads over to help him.

 

Once Jihoon has his clothes on, Seungcheol takes a good look at him. The sleeves reach way past his hands, creating sweater paws, and he can barely see the shorts peeking out from underneath the large piece of clothing.

 

“Why are you wearing that?” Seungcheol asks. It wasn’t a particularly hot day, why would Jihoon need shorts?  
  
“Why, is it because it’s pink?” Jihoon asks defensively.

 

“No, it’s because you look cold…” Seungcheol says, pointing to Jihoon’s legs that were slightly quivering.

 

Now that Jihoon thinks about it, the window in his room _is_ open and a cold breeze is blowing in.

 

“Hyungwoo-nim gave me this as a present and said he’d like to see me in it... so I thought… I should wear it… right?”

 

Seungcheol didn’t like what Jihoon was saying, he seems so unsure of himself.

 

“Well… If you really want to…”

 

They go back to playing for a while before Jihoon speaks up, “Oh, right, my mom said that she’d have snacks, we should go and get them.”

Seungcheol agrees and they both head out into the kitchen.  
  
They are met with a sweet aroma of cookies…

 

And cigarettes…

 

“Jihoonie, Seungcheol dear, you arrived just in time, the cookies are just out of the oven, but they’re hot so you’ll have to wait for a while until they cool down, how about you take a seat at the table?” Jihoon’s mother says.

  
She puts the cookies on a cooling tray and starts prepping the icing.

 

Jihoon heads over to sit on the chair beside Seungcheol but is swept up by Hyungwoo, who sets Jihoon on his lap.

 

Jihoon looks uncomfortable.

 

The man, Hyungwoo, chuckles as he puts his arm around Jihoons waist and huffs out a cloud of smoke near Jihoon’s neck. He tries to wriggle out of Hyungwoo’s grasp but the elder just holds him closer.

 

“You look amazing in these clothes, Jihoonie, I knew they’d suit you, they show off your skin so beautifully.”

 

Jihoon and Seungcheol grimace, although they don’t know the meaning behind these words, they don’t really think it’s a compliment.

“T-thank you, Hyungwoo-nim…” Jihoon says quietly. _I have to be polite..._

 

Seungcheol wonders why Ms. Lee isn’t saying anything. Then he realizes that her back is turned.

 

Seungcheol’s attention snaps back to Jihoon when he hears a slight whimper. It came from Jihoon. Out of the corner of Seungcheol’s eye, he can see Hyungwoo sniff the slope of Jihoon’s neck and collarbone.

 

Seungcheol is just about to get up and say something when Ms. Lee turns around with a tray of cookies and milk.

 

Seungcheol turns to fully see Hyungwoo and Jihoon and realizes that Hyungwoo is nowhere near Jihoon’s neck anymore. Instead, he’s eyeing Ms. Lee.

 

She sets it down on the table and grabs her cup of coffee and sits down across from Jihoon and Hyungwoo.

 

She sighs, “It’s so nice to see you two getting along so nicely.”

 

Seungcheol assumes that she’s talking to him, but then Hyungwoo replies, “You know me and kids, we have special relationships that I treasure.” He gives off a sickening smile.

 

  
But Seungcheol doesn’t know what that smile means, neither does Jihoon…

 

  
  
And most definitely not Ms. Lee.

 

 

 

 

 

 


	4. Friends Forever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seungcheol likes to draw, so does Jihoon. Why not draw their friendship?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short update, since I've got exams next week, I won't upload for a while until they're over.  
> Thanks for reading.
> 
> (Should probably read the previous uploads to understand to story.)

 

 

 

Seungcheol grows pretty accustomed to the neighbourhood after a couple months. In that time he also grows closer to Jihoon.

 

“So, where’s your dad?” Seungcheol asks, Jihoon’s never brought up his dad, and Seungcheol was curious. He was too young to know how touchy this subject was, and Jihoon was too young to even know what really happened.

 

“My mom says that he’s on a trip somewhere, filming baby animals...” Jihoon says, swinging his legs over the edge of his bed.

 

Seungcheol is situated on the floor with some paper and markers. He’s drawing a picture of Jihoon and himself.

 

Seungcheol looks confused, “Why baby animals?”

 

Jihoon shrugs, “I don’t know, apparently he likes filming animals that we don’t have…”

 

Seungcheol accepts this answer, deciding not to pursue it again.

 

 

 

 

A couple minutes later and he holds up his picture to show to Jihoon.

 

“It’s really nice hyung!”

 

“This one's for you, I made a second one, so we can both have one! You can hang this one up on your walls, they seem pretty empty.” Seungcheol holds up another drawing (presumably the one he’s taking home) similar to the first one, except the words ‘friends forever’ aren’t written on it.

 

Jihoon frowns slightly, but Seungcheol speaks before Jihoon can even question it, “I was thinking, since I wrote ‘friends forever on your, you could write ‘friends forever’ on mine!”

 

Jihoon nods, happily, taking his own pencil and writing down ‘friends forever’ as best as he could. Seungcheol looks happily and Jihoon as the younger scribbles words across the paper. Jihoon finishes and gives Seungcheol his drawing.

 

Jihoon takes a piece of tape from his desk and tries to put the picture Seungcheol gave him up above his bed, but he doesn’t quite reach the area he wants.

 

Seungcheol sees this and goes over to help him, being slightly taller and all.

 

They both stand back to observe their little achievement. It looks nice above Jihoon’s bed.

 

“We should go over to my house to hang up mine!”

 

Jihoon nods and gets off his bed.

 

They both go down the hallway to the entrance to put on their boots and coats. It’s growing pretty chilly since it’s November. It was almost Jihoon’s birthday, but Seungcheol didn’t know that yet, seeing as he didn’t even ask him when it was.

 

Seungcheol could have told Jihoon his birthday, but he had moved to the neighbourhood mid first-semester so he already had it.

 

There isn’t snow on the ground yet, but there’s a thin layer of frost adorning the windows and roads.

 

It only takes them a couple minutes to reach the warmth inside Seungcheol’s house. They’re greeted with the nice smell of hot chocolate being prepared by Ms. Choi, who looks happy to see them.

 

“Jihoon, Seungcheol, welcome home, would you like some hot chocolate?” Ms. Choi offers.

 

They both nod and head into the kitchen.

 

While Ms. Choi prepares two cups for them, Seungcheol takes out the picture from his pocket and unfolds it.

 

Seungcheol’s picture is a little different, of course, it is, no picture is the same. At least, Jihoon’s never seen two of the same picture before.

 

“Oh, that’s a lovely picture, sweetie, did you draw this?” Ms. Choi remarks, setting down the cups of hot chocolate on the table.

 

Seungcheol nods and smiles at her, "Jihoonie helped as well!"

 

They both drink up their warm beverage in silence. It’s so good.

 

Seungcheol even gets a little foam on his nose, which Jihoon wipes off. Ms. Choi chuckles to herself while observing them.

 

The two then leave to go to Seungcheol’s room to put up the drawing.

 

Now, Seungcheol’s room is completely unpacked, absolutely no boxes in sight. Jihoon can now see a large number of plushies that cover the floor, it’s almost hard not to step on them.

 

“Sorry about the mess, I’ll clean it up later, my mom really wants me to…” Seungcheol says, clearing a small path towards the designated wall.

 

Jihoon doesn’t mind though, he almost feels like gathering up a big pile and falling asleep in it. They look so soft.

 

While Jihoon gets lost in his daydreams, Seungcheol hangs up the picture in the same place above his bed as Jihoon’s.

 

Seungcheol takes a while to look at his creation. He likes it. It perfectly shows what he wants people to see. Him and Jihoon, Jihoon and him. Perfect together.

 

Seungcheol turns around, and to his surprise, he sees Jihoon asleep, on a pile of plushies.

 

Seungcheol chuckles. He guesses Jihoon’s pretty tired, even though they didn’t do much that day. Seungcheol wonders what could possibly make Jihoon so exhausted? It’s not like gym classes were excruciating, they were only six and seven after all. Kindergarten wasn’t that hard.

 

Now that Seungcheol thinks about it, Jihoon never really went outside much or talked with other people besides him. He wonders what Jihoon does with his time.

 

Does he play with his plushies? Does he colour with markers and crayons? Does he read books with his mom? Or possibly that man Seungcheol met a while ago?

 

Whatever it was, Seungcheol hopes that Jihoon isn’t lonely by himself.

 

Jihoon shuffles a little, turning over so that he’s facing Seungcheol. His sleeping face is so peaceful.

 

Seungcheol feels a compelling force that urges him to stroke Jihoon’s hair. _It’s so soft..._

 

 

Yeah, they’re gonna be best friends forever.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So because of technical difficulties, I won't be uploading the pictures on here, but on my tumblr instead, so please go check that out if you'd like.
> 
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/just-a-random-tumblfandom
> 
> Originally there was supposed to be 2 pictures in this fic, both versions of the picture that Seungcheol drew.
> 
> There will be more plot next upload


	5. Kiss Kiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jihoon doesn't like kisses.
> 
> Well, he's never really been kissed by anyone other than his mother.
> 
> Maybe that's why he lets the man kiss him.  
> Series

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings:
> 
> Slight pedophilia, nothing too dark but it will get darker in future works. If you are uncomfortable with this theme, I would very much suggest you don't read this. Thank you for understanding.
> 
> Please keep in mind, I am not trying to romanticise pedophilia, this is a depiction from a young child's point of view, who doesn't even understand the concept.

 

Jihoon doesn’t like kisses. He doesn’t mind the kisses from his mother, but he finds it weird when other people kiss. Like Hyungwoo…

 

Jihoon doesn’t know why Hyungwoo kisses his mom. He isn’t his dad…

 

He saw other people kiss, and every time, they were married. He knows his mom kisses him because she loves him, so why does Hyungwoo? Does Hyungwoo love him? Does Hyungwoo love his mom?

 

His mom and Hyungwoo aren’t married…

 

He certainly isn’t married.

 

….So why did Hyungwoo kiss him?

 

 

 

“Jihoon-ah, my mom said that she would bring Wooseok and me to the festival in town, do you want to come with?” Seungcheol asks Jihoon.

 

They’re both currently swinging on the swingset in the park nearby. There are four swings, two of which are occupied by Seungcheol and Jihoon.

 

Jihoon is proud, he can swing himself high up above, all on his own. He doesn’t need to be pushed by his mother anymore, he can be tall all on his own.

 

Jihoon ponders for a moment before giving a slight hum, “Okay, but I have to ask my mom first.”

 

Seungcheol grins and jumps off the swing in mid-air. Wow. Jihoon hasn’t tried that yet, it looks impressive, but also scary, what if he gets hurt?

 

Well, what's the worst that could happen?

 

So Jihoon jumps.

 

 

And falls.

 

 

Jihoon feels a sharp sting on his knee and hands. He looks at them and sees red. The skin around his palms and the area around his knee are scratched, and he can see very faint blood drops appearing.

 

It hurts.

 

Seungcheol runs over and sits down next to Jihoon. He takes his hands in his and inspects them.

 

Jihoon feels tears well up in his eyes, and he can’t move his hand to wipe them away, so they start falling freely. He feels a knot in his throat, and his palms start to  
hurt more.

 

Seungcheol pulls out a little band-aid from his pocket and applies it to Jihoon’s knee after carefully wiping away the dirt with his sleeve.

 

“Sorry I don’t have any others, my mom always tells me to carry one around just in case.”

 

“Thanks…” Jihoon says in between slight sniffles.

 

“How about I kiss it better? My mom always does that and it makes me feel better!”

 

Kiss? But isn’t kissing only for love?

 

“B-but we aren’t related, or married?”

 

Seungcheol looks confused for a moment before breaking into a grin. He wipes away Jihoon’s tears, “Kisses can be for many things! It makes you feel good! Since I love you, I can kiss you right?”

 

Love him? Seungcheol loves him? But love is such a strong word.

 

“Isn’t love for couples? Like husband and wife?” Jihoon murmurs.

 

“Well, why don’t we become one?” Seungcheol suggests.

 

Become a couple? But Jihoon’s only ever heard of adult couples. They’re just kids.

 

“But don’t two people have to get married to become a couple?”

 

Seungcheol ponders for a moment, before smiling his usual, wide comforting smile.

 

“Then let’s get married!”

 

For once, Jihoon smiles, he no longer feels the pain of his fall.

 

Seungcheol takes Jihoon’s hands in his and gives each one a little kiss.

 

“There, all better!”

 

 

 

“Mom, why do people kiss?” Jihoon asks his mom.

 

His mother puts her book down to look at him, “Well honey, kisses are meant to be for love. You kiss people you love to show affection.”

 

“Isn’t kisses only for couples and relatives?”

 

His mother chuckles, “Kisses can be with anyone as long as you like them.”

 

Hm, this makes more sense now.

 

“Is that why Hyungwoo kisses you?”

 

His mother stops reading and flicks her gaze up towards him, “Yes, you could say that…”

 

“Why does Hyungwoo kiss me then?”

 

His mother hesitates for a moment, she thinks, “It’s because he loves you too, darling, there’s nothing to be afraid of, he’s a nice man.”

 

Jihoon nods, accepting the answer.

 

So when Hyungwoo kisses him, it means he loves him…

 

 

 

But Hyungwoo’s kisses don’t feel nice…

 

They’re not soft pecks like his mom’s…

 

They’re not playful like Seungcheol’s…

 

They’re hard and weird…

 

Like his dad used to be….

 

 

 

“Jihoonie, it’s good to see you again!” Hyungwoo opens his arms and squeezes Jihoon into a big hug.

 

“Thank you so much for looking after him, the boss called and I have to go in. Jihoonie needs to be in bed by 8:30, he’s already had dinner, just make sure he brushes his teeth and puts on his pajamas. Oh, he also likes having a bedside story read to him before sleep, just pick any book on his shelf. Thank you so much, Hyungwoo.”

 

Jihoon’s mom gives Jihoon one last kiss before leaving. “Love you, dear!” She says before closing the door behind her.

 

Jihoon is left staring at the closed door, hoping that she’ll come back, by some miracle.

 

“So Jihoonie, what do you want to do tonight?”

 

Jihoon turns around slowly to face the older man. He’s tall, very tall, much like how his father was. He’s smiling at Jihoon, but Jihoon doesn’t like that smile.

 

“I have some homework to do…” Jihoon says as he heads to his room, hoping that Hyungwoo won’t follow him.

 

Luckily, he doesn’t.

 

 

It’s around 7:30 when Jihoon hears a knock on his door. He turns to see Hyungwoo peeking in, he’s got his usual smile on his face.

 

When he fully opens the door and enters, Jihoon can see that he’s got his hands behind his back. He’s holding something.

 

“Jihoonie, since it’s getting late, I thought we should get ready for bed. I bought you some new pajamas I saw the other day and I thought you’d enjoy them.”

 

He holds out a white long sleeved shirt that looks very thin, it looks cold. The shorts are like the previous ones given, except these ones have little stars on them. How could Jihoon sleep in these clothes?

 

“How about I help you with them?”

 

Jihoon frantically shakes his head, “Uh, no, thank you, but I can manage myself..”

 

If Hyungwoo was disappointed, he didn’t show it. He nods and leaves the clothes on Jihoon’s bed.

 

“Be changed in a couple of minutes, then we can go brush our teeth, alright?” He says as he leaves the room.

 

Jihoon stares at the door left wide open. He gets up to close it, leaving his room basked in the darkness save for his small lamp on his desk.

 

Jihoon puts on his new ‘pyjamas’ and leaves to go to the bathroom to brush his teeth. Once he’s done he goes back to his room and goes to lie down on his bed.

 

Should he pretend to be asleep? Should he wait for Hyungwoo to read him a story?

 

Either way, it’s too late since Hyungwoo opens the door and comes into Jihoon’s room.

 

“Hey, you all ready for bed?” Jihoon nods.

 

“Did you brush your teeth?” Jihoon nods.

 

“It’s too bad you’re already in bed, I was hoping to see the new pajamas looked on you.”

 

Jihoon gets up and out of bed.

 

Hyungwoo smiles, and sighs. He walks closer to Jihoon and hugs him, bringing his hand a little too close to comfort near his rear, but stops just before.

 

“It looks great, now, ready for a story kiddo?”

 

Jihoon nods and gets back under the covers.

 

Hyungwoo starts telling a story about a beautiful princess who had a beautiful son.

 

“There was once a woman, who had a son. There was a father, too. One day, the father left them, leaving the woman heartbroken.”

 

Hyungwoo proceeds, “One day, a handsome prince came and proposed to the wonderful woman, making her very happy.”  
Jihoon doesn’t like the story, there was no action, no interesting twists…

 

“One day, the woman left, leaving behind her husband and her child. She would return in a few moons time. During this period, the boy fell in love with the prince.”

 

“Is it okay for two men to fall in love?” Jihoon asks, quietly.

 

Hyungwoo’s eyes turn dark, “No, it is wrong, it is despicable for two men to fall in love… That is why the young boy got punished. The prince locked him away, he was a disgrace to the royal family.”

 

Jihoon doesn’t like this story.

 

“The prince decided that the boy should suffer for his actions. He received proper punishment for his actions, and the prince lived happily ever after, with the woman, the boy, long forgotten in the dungeons of the castle.”

 

Hyungwoo leans in for a kiss. Jihoon thought it was the usual kiss on the forehead his mother always gives him, but instead, Hyungwoo goes straight for his neck, placing various short kisses around the area before turning off the light as he leaves the room, wishing Jihoon a goodnight. It makes Jihoon’s skin crawl.

 

 

Now, in the darkness, Jihoon is left to ponder.

 

He feels scared. He doesn’t know why, though. Hyungwoo is kind and gives Jihoon presents. He even makes his mom happy, so why does Jihoon not like him?

 

Maybe it’s the kisses…

 

Jihoon doesn’t like kisses….

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really sorry for not updating, works and projects to be done. I'll have a long break soon which I will use to update more frequently. Thank you for understanding.
> 
> So if you have noticed (Or not, doesn't really matter) I changed the format so I deleted all the other fics and I'm putting them in one fic. Since I plan on writing more after the childhood ark, I'm keeping this fic under a series.
> 
> Sorry for any inconvenience and thank you for reading.


	6. Dinner for One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A look into Jihoon's not so distant past and a little bit into his future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not updating, stuff happening and such.
> 
>  
> 
> Warnings: Mild-ish pedophilia 
> 
>  
> 
> I would like to mention that Jihoon's mother may seem oblivious, but it's not that easy to spot these kinds of things, which is why it happens so much and isn't stopped as early as possible. I will be doing a chapter in her perspective in the future.

  
  


 

_ “Jihoonie dear, mommy's going out for a while so it’s just you and me, what do you want for dinner?” _

  
  


_ “Anything is fine…” _

  
  


_ “Hm, okay…” _ __   
  


  
  


_ A couple minutes later, Jihoon smells the sweet aroma of chicken and rice. His dad calls him into the kitchen. _

  
  
  


_ When Jihoon enters the doorway, he only sees one placemat, one plate, and one meal. _

  
  


_ He goes to sit down next to his father but he’s stopped. _

  
  


_ “Jihoonie, what are you doing? Come sit here.” Jihoon’s father motions to his lap. _

  
  


_ Jihoon goes to sit on his father’s lap. He wriggles a little to get in a comfortable situation. His father lets out a deep sigh and wraps his arms around Jihoon’s waist. _

  
  


_ “Aren’t you hungry, dad?” Jihoon asks. _

  
  


_ “No, you can eat.” _

  
  


_ Jihoon picks up a piece of chicken and starts to eat. It’s super yummy… _

  
  


_ He feels his father shift a little, then he feels something tugging at the collar of his shirt. He feels his father’s large, cold hand pull on it a little, exposing his collarbone. _

  
  


_ “...Dad?” _

  
  


_ “Sh, it’s okay Jihoonie, just keep eating…” _ __   
  


 

_ But Jihoon can’t focus on his meal, his shoulder is cold and the windows are open. Not to mention that the arm around his waist is tightening, preventing him from even moving a little. The position is starting to get a little uncomfortable. _

  
  


_ He feels his father kiss his neck and collarbone, it feels weird and Jihoon doesn’t like it. He doesn’t like it one bit. He can’t move, his dad’s arm tightens even more. At this point, it’s even starting to hurt a little and Jihoon can’t breathe as regularly. _

  
  


_ Jihoon tries to chew his food and he tries to swallow, but he can’t. The food now tastes bitter, the rice is cold, the milk is sour. He feels sick, but why? _

  
  


_ Why did he feel like this? Why did he feel like throwing up? Why was his father doing this? _

  
  


_ Jihoon shuts his eyes and hopes it ends soon. _

  
  
  


_ It doesn’t… _

  
  
  
  


_ It happens again, and again. _

  
  
  
  
  


_ Until his mother finds out. _

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


_ “How could you! I trusted you! You promised me that you’d never hurt Jihoon!” Jihoon hears his mother shout at his father. He covers his ears and curls up into a fetal position. He doesn’t like shouting. It hurts his ears. His parents are shouting at each other in the other room and he doesn’t like it. _

  
  


_ “Dear, I haven’t done anything!” _ __   
  


 

_ “What do you mean! I see the marks on his body! How could you! I could have turned you in years ago!” _

  
  


_ “Let’s not get ahead of yourself, let’s take a deep breath and talk alright?” _

  
  


_ “No, it’s too late for that, I’m taking my things and leaving! I’m taking Jihoon with me.” _ __   
  


 

_ “What? You can’t do that!” _

  
  


_ “Try me! I know where you keep them, I have copies and evidence! Unless you want the police to find out, you’ll let me and Jihoon leave peacefully and not bother us anymore…” _

  
  


_ There was silence, Jihoon didn’t know what was happening, he was too young to understand the big words his parents were using. Either way, he didn’t like it. He wanted it to stop. _

  
  
  
  
  


_ His mom wakes me up early the next morning. Jihoon knew it was early, because the sun wasn’t up, or maybe it was still really late. Jihoon doesn’t care, he’s still tired. _

  
  


_ “Jihoonie, sweetie, you have to get up, we’re going on a trip alright?” _

  
  


_ Jihoon nods sleepily, not quite processing her words. She urges him to sit up. He watches her through his tired eyes as she gathers up a couple of Jihoon’s belongings. She dresses Jihoon and picks him up. _

  
  


_ “We’ll pick up the rest of your things later, alright?” Jihoon nods, but it’s an automatic response. _

  
  


_ He falls into a sleepy sort of daze. He feels the cold breeze of the night air hit his skin. He feels his mother put him in his car seat in the back of her car and he hears the car burst to life. _

  
  


_ He doesn’t know how long he slept, but when he wakes up, he’s in an unfamiliar bed. He doesn’t like new places, and his mother is nowhere to be seen. He starts to cry. _

  
  


_ The door opens and his mother comes in and hugs him, shushing him and pressing gentle kisses on his forehead. _

 

_   
_ _ She whispers, “It’s alright, you’re safe here… Don’t cry, I’m right here…” _ __   
  


 

_ She gently rocks him to sleep again, and Jihoon dreams of him and his mother, sharing a nice piece of cake and milk together, only, what was strange was that his father wasn’t in the dream.  _

  
  
  
  


“Jihoon, it’s time to get up, don’t want to keep Seungcheol waiting, today’s the day of the festival, don’t wanna be late for your tradition,” his mother greets him happily.

  
  


Jihoon wakes up to his mother’s smiling face, he smiles back at her.

  
  


Jihoon gets up and dresses himself. He’s wearing his favourite music-print t-shirt and blue shorts. Today was the same day, Seungcheol took him to the local festival, last year.

  
  


They decided that they’d go together every year from then on, and today was the day.

  
  


Jihoon is seven years old, and Seungcheol is eight. It’s their second time going to the festival.

  
  


“Oh, Jihoonie, Kwangjae is going to come over to help fix the roof,” she says while she knits a beautiful blue pattern. She’s making a scarf for winter.

  
  


Jihoon nods. Kwangjae was the university student that sometimes babysits him, he’s fun to be with. He likes Kwangjae, he gave him gifts, except they were more fun than Hyungwoo’s. Kwangjae gave him toys to play with.

  
  


He eats a good helping of breakfast and heads out the door to Seungcheol’s house.

  
  


Seungcheol and Wooseok and their mom are already waiting on the steps to their house, their dog, Fighter, is also waiting with them.

  
  


The five of them head over to the festival, last year the theme was ‘autumn harvest’, this year is ‘under the sea’.

  
  


All around there are colours of blues and greens. There’s a fish pool, where people can pretend to fish out bags full of toys.

 

  
They walk along the various stalls filled with games and prizes. The amazing smells coming from the food stalls fill their nostrils. All around are toys of all sorts. Huge animal plushies, random gizmos, and knick-knacks to be won all around. It all looks so tempting.

  
  


Everything looks like so much fun, Jihoon doesn’t know what to do first. 

  
  


Seungcheol takes him by the hand and pulls him towards a stall selling cotton candy. Together, they share a big piece. It tastes amazing.

  
  


They’re having so much fun, they don’t realize time passing by. It seems like it’s too soon, but eventually, they head back in time to get well-needed rest for their growing bodies.

  
  


“Jihoon, we’ll go tomorrow just us too okay? The festival’s still in town for a couple more days, we can try to win that huge stuffed cat you wanted!”

  
  


Jihoon nods and agrees.

  
  


_ Yeah, tomorrow they’ll come back... _

 

 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Have a nice day.
> 
> I just need to get Jihoon to the right age before things start progressing more, and I don't want to do too many time skips to get there, so please bear with me.
> 
> Also I in no circumstance approve of pedophilia or want to romanticize it. I'm trying to portray a realistic situation of how tricky it can become if the child is too young, and doesn't know how to handle the situation, and also doesn't know how wrong or dangerous it could turn out to be. Please let me know if it doesn't seem that way.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading this. Have a nice day!


End file.
